A former employee of the Department of Justice who faced legal proceedings for allegedly throwing a sandwich at a federal officer in Washington, D.C., was acquitted on Thursday.

Sean Dunn was accused of hitting a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent in the chest with a sandwich this past August. The charges against him included assaulting and interfering with a federal officer, as well as resisting and intimidating.

After about seven hours of deliberation, the jury concluded with a not guilty verdict. Following the announcement, Dunn embraced his legal team in the courtroom.

“I felt I was defending the rights of immigrants,” Dunn stated post-verdict. “E Pluribus Unum, the motto of the United States, signifies ‘Out of many, one.’ This means that every life is important, regardless of origin, journey, or identity. Everyone deserves to live a life of freedom.”

Sean Dunn’s case centered on allegations of him throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in Washington, D.C. (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia).

During the trial, Dunn’s legal team insisted he threw the sandwich in protest of President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and it was not a violent attack.

Video of the incident quickly went viral, with Dunn being heralded as a hero by residents throughout the city who also opposed Trump’s move to occupy the nation’s capital with federal agents.

Dunn’s lawyers did not dispute that Dunn threw the sandwich at a CBP officer outside a nightclub, though they insisted it was done as an “exclamation point” to express his negative feelings about the National Guard’s deployment within the nation’s capital.

FBI and Border Patrol officers speak with Sean Charles Dunn after he allegedly assaulted law enforcement with a sandwich Aug. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

“It was a harmless gesture at the end of him exercising his right to speak out,” defense attorney Julia Gatto said during the trial. “He is overwhelmingly not guilty.”

Prosecutors argued that Dunn’s political expressions don’t make him immune from prosecution for assaulting the agent.

FBI and Border Patrol officers arrest Sean Charles Dunn after he allegedly assaulted law enforcement with a sandwich in Washington, D.C., Aug. 10, 2025. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images )

Dunn was employed at the Justice Department as an international affairs specialist in its criminal division at the time of the incident.

After Dunn’s arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced his firing in a social media post that referred to him as “an example of the Deep State.”